4 Aug 2013

Bond star 'marries' his gay partner - and they are both 'so happy and proud.

Married: Ben Whishaw as Q in Skyfall

He has always been notoriously
discreet about his private life, but now it can be revealed that actor
Ben Whishaw has entered into a civil partnership. The 32-year-old star ‘married’ his partner, Australian composer Mark Bradshaw, in Sydney last August. The
couple met on the set of Jane Campion’s 2009 film Bright Star, about
John Keats’s heartbreaking love affair with neighbour Fanny Brawne
before his untimely death from TB. Whishaw played Keats in the film, while 30-year-old Mr Bradshaw composed the score.The
actor, widely hailed for his brilliance on stage and screen, thrilled
audiences last year with his quirky high-tech take on MI6 boffin Q in
the Bond film Skyfall. His
sexuality has been the subject of a lively internet debate in recent
years. Speculation was sparked by an interview he gave to the gay
magazine Out in March 2011 while playing a homosexual character in an
off-Broadway play, The Pride. When
the interviewer asked whether it was important for young gay people to
have positive role models, Whishaw replied: ‘I feel in my heart that
it’s important, but I don’t quite know yet the way to go about that.
Maybe that’s the transitional thing I feel I’m in the middle of at the
moment.’ Last night
Whishaw’s spokesman confirmed the civil partnership, saying: ‘Ben has
never hidden his sexuality, but like many actors he prefers not to
discuss his family or life outside of his work. ‘Due
to speculation, I can confirm that Ben and Mark entered into a civil
partnership in August 2012. They were proud to do so and are very
happy.’A friend of the
couple, who live in Hackney, East London, said: ‘Everyone’s delighted
for them. Mark’s a lovely guy, very talented and very close to Jane
Campion. There hasn’t been a chance for a big celebration because of
Ben’s schedule but I’m sure there will be one at some point.’

Happy couple: Whishaw with his partner Mark Bradshaw, left,
an Australian composer. The pair entered into a civil partnership last
August in Sydney